


Darling, You Look Wonderful Tonight

by MountainGirl96



Category: Enchanted Forest Chronicles - Patricia Wrede
Genre: Childhood, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-01
Updated: 2014-04-01
Packaged: 2018-01-17 16:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1394338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MountainGirl96/pseuds/MountainGirl96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He looks at her, really looks at her, perhaps for the first time. It strikes him then how little they really know each other, even after all these years.</p><p>Morwen coerces Telemain into attending the school's annual dance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Darling, You Look Wonderful Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feedback is appreciated and thanks for reading!

Telemain has been dreading this night for ages. This, he shudders to even think the word, _dance_. It’s the end of the year, they’ll all be moving on soon. Some will go back to their farms and shops, some to university. This gathering is their last hurrah. Before long, they shall be strangers once more. He feels like a stranger now, standing here among the others. He’s gangly and awkward and uncomfortable. He hadn’t wanted to come; he’d only agreed to do it for her. Morwen could be surprisingly persuasive when she put her mind to it. He wonders where she is, it’s almost dark and he feels lost without her. The small crowd is suffocating, the heat in the room oppressive, and one of the musicians is obliviously flat.

He tries to shove his hands in his pockets to avoid the discomfort, only to remember his formal clothes don't have pockets. Blasted inconvenient, that. He settles for contemplating the entrance to the ballroom, studying the area where dimensions overlap with a slight shimmer. Why would the school go to the trouble of magical dimensional modification? Maybe it was cheaper than renting out a similar physical space elsewhere? Had one of the teachers arranged it? It didn't seem like a magical signature he recognized, although if several of them had been working together the stylistic cross-contamination could account for the residual…

Then he sees her: Morwen. She's finally here, and she is stunning. He looks at her, really looks at her, perhaps for the first time. It strikes him then how little they really know each other, even after all these years. He’s seen her countless times, but somehow it seems he's never really seen her at all. There is something about her that is decidedly not the girl he knows, this woman is something more.

Is it that her hair is down, ginger curls falling softly across delicate shoulders? That can’t be it; he’s seen her hair undone many times. True, it’s usually tied back, out of her eyes, out of his mind. Wouldn’t be practical of her to have it down all the time, getting in the way. Morwen was nothing if not practical.

Is it the dress? He’s used to seeing her in simple working clothes, dull school uniforms, the occasional day dress, nothing like this. Lilac fabric wraps and clings to her, sensuous and decadent. The gown is sleeveless yet modest; Morwen doesn't go for flashy. It makes her look especially lovely, showing off a gently sloping silhouette, unmarred by sharp angles. There’s something incredibly feminine in the generous curves of her figure. How could he have missed that? Yet it's the same Morwen, her regal bearing and subtle elegance, he would know her anywhere. She seems just out of reach, an ethereal vision in violet.

Is it the makeup? Morwen never wears makeup, something about cosmetics and magic not mixing. Even now, it is minimal, highlighting her sparkling eyes and delicate features. She radiates an unstudied glamour, her natural beauty underscored but not overpowered by artifice. Her berry stained lips quirk upward in a smile as she sees him; he waves feebly in response.

She glides over to him, smiling wider. He realizes he’s been staring.

“Hey,” she says.  
“Hey,” he replies. They stand there, strangely unsure for a second.  
“Thanks,” she starts, then pauses again.  
“For what?”  
“Coming, with me. I mean, I know you didn’t really want to, but, I appreciate, so,”  
“Oh, right, well, um, no problem. It’s, well, not as bad as I thought,”  
“Really?” she interrupts with an ironic look.  
“Well, it’s better now that you’re here.” Which is true, he’s almost forgotten about everybody else, enraptured by her easy smile and the way her hair appears to be streaked with gold in the dim light. “You, um, you look really pretty.”  
“Really?” she repeats, blushing.  
“Really.”

He resists the urge to touch her hair. It looks so soft. And that’s when he realizes, it’s this softness. Morwen has always been a gentle person, but now, she glows softly like a candle, illuminated from within. He doesn’t know where the light in her eyes came from, he only knows that he wants it never to go away, that he will do anything to keep it going. And with that realization, he straightens, pushes back his hair, and offers his hand.

“Morwen, may I have this dance?” The orchestra tunes and she smiles before adopting a similarly formal position.  
“You may.”

And then they are touching, breathless for a single yet infinite moment, then twirling off onto the floor, her laughter echoing in his ears.  
He will always remember her like this always, even when they are both old and gray. She is soft and warm and real, the most beautiful creature in the world. And he, perhaps, glows with a newfound joy, shining in the light coming off of her. Together, they are radiant.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.


End file.
